Help me design a custom race trailer

Current trailer is an 8.5x20 enclosed cargo trailer, and was acquired several (larger) race cars ago.  Goal is to downsize to a smaller, lighter, more aerodynamic enclosed trailer (I store the car in it) that can be easily towed by an SUV or midsize truck, 

Race car is a Radical SR1.  Small car that weighs a little over 1,000lbs dry.  Other stuff that has to have a home on the trailer is a set of wheels/tires, a quick jack, some basic tools and spares, gas jugs, and a big a$$ set of Race Ramps required by the car's very low ground clearance.

I was originally thinking about one of these Trailex trailers:

https://www.trailex.com/products/pc/Enclosed-Sports-Car-Trailer-CTE-84180T-8p40.htm

Very nice, very light, very expensive, very overkill for my needs.  I learned from a local trailer dealer that I can order a custom cargo trailer and have it here in 4-6 weeks, and the price will be much easier to swallow.

A standard 7x16 v-nose enclosed cargo trailer should fit my stuff and only weighs 2200lb. If I go shorter I will save even more weight.  I should be within reach of getting the whole loaded trailer down to around 3500lb.

Standard interior height is 7', but I'm going to go shorter to reduce frontal area for towing and I'm trying to decide how much shorter.  If I go to 6' I can still walk in and out of the trailer easily.  If I go to 5' (like the Trailex) it will be harder to walk in and out and may take some creativity to find a place for a tire rack, but the aerodynamics would improve substantially by being similar in height to the tow vehicle.

I'm trying to decide whether I want the entry door in the usual spot, or on the side panel of the v-nose like the Trailex.  I can see some advantages and disadvantages to both places.

3500lb axles should be fine.  I want brakes on both axles.

I'm going to mount a winch in the front.  I've been powering the current trailer's winch with a Li Ion garden tractor battery, which works well enough for me.

Knowing what you know about your race trailer, what other design choices would you make, or features would you build in to a new trailer design?  Show me some clever storage ideas for wheels and tires, gas cans, race ramps, etc.

One of these is pretty clutch.

Also, off topic a little, but I might be interested in the 8.5x20 if it's going to be liquidated.

When I was towing the Abomination I always wanted something like this. 

Oh wow!  That looks like a sailplane clam shell trailer.

I looked at Montrose trailers; I have nothing but good things to say about but I can't justify the price as they are around 20K.

I think the big side flap doors are cool for production cars but I don't think you gain anything with a sports racer. I'd go with the standard side door.

I had mine built 20 years ago at only 6 feet tall for aero reasons.  It's 20 feet (to front of "V" and the formula car is ~14'.  Tools, nitrogen bottles, and pit scooter took up a bit of room.  I used easy-trac to create racks that passed over the front of the car to carry 8 spare mounted wheels/tires.  Had shelves above the sides of the car to hold the ramps to get a car with 3/4" of ground clearance in and out.  I was careful about load placement and managed to stay around 700# of tongue weight.  Tows nice.

I worry at 16 feet you might get cramped for space.

Tom1200 said:

I looked at Montrose trailers; I have nothing but good things to say about but I can't justify the price as they are around 20K.

I think the big side flap doors are cool for production cars but I don't think you gain anything with a sports racer. I'd go with the standard side door.

"escape doors" sound cool, but you need about 6 feet of clearance on the side of the trailer and IME that's rarely the case.  Most places you might store a trailer don't have that much room (certainly my side yard doesn't), and in a crowded race paddock the trailer next to yours is often closer than that as well.

As far as what to look for in an enclosed trailer, what kind of events do you want to do with it and how many tools and spares are you bringing with you?  If it's just local track days and you don't want to do much work on the car then it might be as simple as a second set of wheels and some tools to change them.  If you're going racing you're going to want more wheels (rain tires, warmup tires, practice tires, stickers for qual, etc), and enough spares and tools to fix at least the easy stuff (brakes, for example).  Endurance racing you probably want spare accessories like alternators, water pumps, and radiators, as well as things like fueling equipment.  If you're going somewhere like the Runoffs and it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip, then you start getting into spare engines and transmissions, suspension components and tools to band-aid bodywork after a crash, etc.

Secondly, think about how you'll use the trailer while you're actually at the event.  You'll probably want to use it for shade and rain protection, and have some kind of food storage.  Are you camping in it?  Do you want a generator, microwave, BBQ grill, or air conditioning?  Air compressor?  If you're camping in the trailer are you going to unload the car first, or do you want to be able to do it while stopped for the night on the way somewhere?

Aside from the stuff above, other stuff that I keep in my trailer includes an EZ-up canopy, sandbags to anchor it, a couple folding tables, half a dozen folding chairs, my driving gear (suit, shoes, socks, balaclava, helmet), radios (pit-to-car), suspension alignment tools, a rack of fluids (oil, trans, diff, brake), rags, "picnic" supplies, ramps, jacks (both for the race car and the trailer itself), jack stands, a cooler for drinks and food, another cooler with ice for the cool shirt, fire extinguisher, a couple jackets, umbrella, a "pit bike" scooter, etc.

Make sure that you have enough clearance to get into the trailer and get out the tools needed to change a tire on it without having to unload the car.

Whatever size you buy, you'll eventually find something that doesn't fit and wish you'd bought a bigger one. :)

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Also, off topic a little, but I might be interested in the 8.5x20 if it's going to be liquidated.

Sent you a PM, let me know if you didn't get it.

Toyman! said:

When I was towing the Abomination I always wanted something like this. 

Yeah I looked at Aerovault trailers which are similar to this.  Cool idea but they're basically unobtainable and very expensive.

Purple Frog said:

I had mine built 20 years ago at only 6 feet tall for aero reasons.  It's 20 feet (to front of "V" and the formula car is ~14'.  Tools, nitrogen bottles, and pit scooter took up a bit of room.  I used easy-trac to create racks that passed over the front of the car to carry 8 spare mounted wheels/tires.  Had shelves above the sides of the car to hold the ramps to get a car with 3/4" of ground clearance in and out.  I was careful about load placement and managed to stay around 700# of tongue weight.  Tows nice.

I worry at 16 feet you might get cramped for space.

This is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for!  The trailer I design will be very similar to yours- it's great to see how 6' height looks, that seems just about perfect.  If it's not too much trouble, could you also post some pics of your interior tire rack and shelves?

The 16 foot length is the rectangular portion, the V nose adds another 2 feet or so of storage to the front so overall length of the interior is more like 18 feet.  My car is only 12.5" long, so that should hopefully leave me enough space for the necessities but not enough to hoard crap like I've been doing in my current trailer.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

"escape doors" sound cool, but you need about 6 feet of clearance on the side of the trailer and IME that's rarely the case.  Most places you might store a trailer don't have that much room (certainly my side yard doesn't), and in a crowded race paddock the trailer next to yours is often closer than that as well.

As far as what to look for in an enclosed trailer, what kind of events do you want to do with it and how many tools and spares are you bringing with you?  If it's just local track days and you don't want to do much work on the car then it might be as simple as a second set of wheels and some tools to change them.  If you're going racing you're going to want more wheels (rain tires, warmup tires, practice tires, stickers for qual, etc), and enough spares and tools to fix at least the easy stuff (brakes, for example).  Endurance racing you probably want spare accessories like alternators, water pumps, and radiators, as well as things like fueling equipment.  If you're going somewhere like the Runoffs and it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip, then you start getting into spare engines and transmissions, suspension components and tools to band-aid bodywork after a crash, etc.

Secondly, think about how you'll use the trailer while you're actually at the event.  You'll probably want to use it for shade and rain protection, and have some kind of food storage.  Are you camping in it?  Do you want a generator, microwave, BBQ grill, or air conditioning?  Air compressor?  If you're camping in the trailer are you going to unload the car first, or do you want to be able to do it while stopped for the night on the way somewhere?

Aside from the stuff above, other stuff that I keep in my trailer includes an EZ-up canopy, sandbags to anchor it, a couple folding tables, half a dozen folding chairs, my driving gear (suit, shoes, socks, balaclava, helmet), radios (pit-to-car), suspension alignment tools, a rack of fluids (oil, trans, diff, brake), rags, "picnic" supplies, ramps, jacks (both for the race car and the trailer itself), jack stands, a cooler for drinks and food, another cooler with ice for the cool shirt, fire extinguisher, a couple jackets, umbrella, a "pit bike" scooter, etc.

Make sure that you have enough clearance to get into the trailer and get out the tools needed to change a tire on it without having to unload the car.

Whatever size you buy, you'll eventually find something that doesn't fit and wish you'd bought a bigger one. :)

 

Good feedback.  A few comments:

- I don't think I need the "escape doors" with an open topped sports racer, as Tom pointed out.

- I do mainly sprint racing, sprinkled with a few track/test days.  Many of the races I do have trackside support from Primal (Radical dealer), so my need to carry spares is pretty small.  I have a box with fluids and brake parts, and that's about it.

- The car runs on a treaded spec tire, so no need for a separate set of rain tires. I ditched my pit bike for an electric skateboard, which is all of maybe 20 pounds and takes up no space.

- Many of the races and all of the test days are single day events, so no need to live in the trailer.  At the multi-day SCCA events I'm just going to get hotels.  

- In terms of amenities, I really only need a cooler and a chair.  I have a Moon canopy that folds down to the size of a backpacking tent and attaches to the side of the trailer.  I just use spare wheels to hold the legs down.

In short, I think I'm in a position where I can get away with a very lean setup.  I hear you about always wishing for a bigger trailer, but the truth is my current trailer is bigger than I need and it just leads me to be undisciplined about keeping crap in there that never gets used.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

I'm currently using my Mongoose BMX bike as a pit bike. It fits flush against the front wall of my trailer.

I find a large number of people carry way to many spares.

One trick I want to do with mine (when I get one) is mount a crank winch on the wall with a 3/16" wire rope that goes up to a pulley and across to an eye.  I've done this at my theater a few times and it's pretty slick.  I take the handle off and weld a 3/4" nut.  Then I can operate it with a cordless driver with a 3/4" socket.  I'm thinking of it for this.  Lower the winch, undo the cable and pass it through the wheels/tires, and suspend them by pulling the winch tight so they rest in the upper corner of the wall.

I'm working on laying out our 8x24' for endurance racing.  We have already fit an A/C on the side of the V-nose.

I couldn't imagine spec'ing an enclosed trailer that I couldn't comfortably stand in (including the entry doors not banging heads).  I'd pay the few extra $ per trip in fuel economy.

This is a design from the UK

MattGent said:

I'm working on laying out our 8x24' for endurance racing.  We have already fit an A/C on the side of the V-nose.

I couldn't imagine spec'ing an enclosed trailer that I couldn't comfortably stand in (including the entry doors not banging heads).  I'd pay the few extra $ per trip in fuel economy.

Yeah, after seeing PurpleFrog's trailer above I'm inclined to stick with the 6' interior height.  Seems like a good compromise.